South Jersey Soccer Spotlight

Spotlight on: Bishop Eustace senior Nick Hanuscin

First-year Bishop Eustace coach John Loiodice talks with energy when he explains his team's new up-tempo style.

"We're coming in with a new system where we focus on keeping possession," said Loiodice, just 23 years old and just one year removed from his playing days at Rowan University.

"We move the ball around. It's a lot of kick and run, which you don't see at the high school level."

Loiodice wasn't shy about shaking things up in the Bishop Eustace boys' soccer program - which, for some, might be hard to take considering it's the third time the team has been shaken up by a new head coach in the past three seasons.

Some might find the constant change difficult.

Nick Hanuscin just plays soccer.

"I just try to go out there and do my thing," Hanuscin said. "I've played the same position all four years, so I pretty much know what I have to do regardless of the system."

Hanuscin did praise his new coach, and pointed to the family atmosphere and high-energy style as a big reason he is set to play in the first Coaches Tournament of his career.

Bishop Eustace, the 11th seed in the tournament, will face No. 6 Cherokee, the defending tournament champion, on Friday.

The Crusaders (9-2-1) have been riding the strength of a defense led by Hanuscin. They have seven shutouts this season and have allowed only seven goals.

Loiodice credits Hanuscin for holding the defense together.

"He's so overlooked. I don't think people around South Jersey realize how good of a player he really is," Loiodice said. "He's one of the best defenders in South Jersey. Without him, I don't know where we'd be."

The senior defender also has been an instrumental piece of the team's offense during set pieces. He has four goals this year, including the overtime winner against Camden Catholic on Oct. 1.

"He just attacks the ball like no one I've ever seen," Loiodice said.

Hanuscin, a Division I recruit, said that Duquesne and St. Francis (Pa.) are the highest schools on his list right now.

But for the rest of the season, as always, he's just focused on playing soccer.

"We're pretty confident right now," Hanuscin said. "We feel like we're closer as a team this year. We just have to keep playing how we're capable of playing."